


The Only One

by Kiraynn



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2003), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, Mikey's an awesome brother, Mpreg, Raph can be a jerk sometimes, Turtlecest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-21
Updated: 2015-02-20
Packaged: 2018-03-14 00:50:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3402347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiraynn/pseuds/Kiraynn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It shouldn't have been possible, but it happened.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Not mine~ I'm just playing.

Leo looked really small sitting on the cot in Leatherhead’s underground home. His legs held up so his feet didn’t touch the floor, shoulders hunched forward and fingers holding tight to the sheet. He radiated fear, nervousness and awe all in one leaf green and royal blue package.

“Are you sure, Leatherhead?” he asked the mutated lizard. “Not that I don’t trust you. It’s just… it shouldn’t be…”

“Possible?” Leatherhead supplied. He reached up to remove his glasses with a kind smile. “It’s definitely unconventional. But I assure you, Leonardo, I’m not wrong about this. How do you think the others will react?”

“I don’t know.” Leo closed his eyes, releasing a soft, shaky breath. “I don’t even know how I should react.”

They shared a companionable silence for a few moments as Leo thought about his family. Mikey would be the most enthusiastic, of that he was certain. Every new change excited his youngest brother and this was definitely a change. Donnie would be fascinated and protective; he’d want to keep an eye on Leo both medically and brotherly, helping him every step of the way. Splinter would have that twinkle of pride in his brown eyes, the one that he showed when something wonderful happened to his family. And Raph… Raph would be surprised, and then happy. They’d be so happy together.

Leo relaxed inch by inch, and the expression on his face slowly morph into a pure, genuine joy. “This is amazing..”

Leatherhead grinned, pleased with the reaction. “Yes,” he agreed, “it definitely is. Would you like a picture?”

“You can do that?” Leo stared up at him. “Yes! Yes, please!”

“Very well,” the mutant chuckled at his eagerness and turned, grabbing one of his machines. “Lay back.”

 

>

 

“Hey, Leo, there you are! Dinner’s in twenty minutes!”

Raph’s fists stilled at the sound of Mikey’s cheerful shout. He turned to see his eldest brother as he entered the Lair, waved distractedly at the nunchuck wielder’s announcement, then continued towards his room. 

Squaring his shoulders, Raph left his punching bag and followed. He didn’t even bother to consider knocking; he simply pushed the door open and entered, closing it behind him. He didn’t want to risk losing his nerve.

Leo jumped a little at the sudden intrusion. He quickly shoved something inside his desk drawer and stood, facing Raph with wide eyes. When he realized who his guest was, he instantly relaxed as a large smile graced his lips.

“Raph,” he breathed, stepping forward, “I have something to tell you.”

Raphael held up his hand. “Wait,” he insisted, halting the advance, “there’s something I have to tell you, too, Leo. Let me go first.”

Confused, Leo hesitantly nodded. “Um… sure. Something wrong?”

“No, not wrong. It’s just… well…” Raph sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, “I want to break up.” He paused, laughing a little. “What am I saying? ‘Break up’ makes it sound like we were in a relationship or something.”

Leo’s whole body stiffened, his eyes wide. “What’re you saying?”

“Look, bro,” Raph moved closer and grasped Leo’s strong shoulder, his thumb kneading the muscle, “these last few months had been great. You’re amazing in bed. Really. It’s really been fun. But I think it’s better if we just go back to being strictly brothers.”

“But… I don’t understand,” Leo trembled a little, confusion morphing into deep hurt. “Why do you want to end it? Is there someone else?”

Raph shook his head. “No, of course not. No one can compare to you, Leo, you know that.” 

“Then why?”

“It’s just better this way. Besides, it was just sex. It’s not like we actually were in love or anything.” The emerald turtle smiled, giving Leo’s shoulder one last squeeze before he lowered his hand. “So, we good?”

He wanted so badly to protest. To beg Raph to reconsider. He wanted to spill everything he’d talked about with Leatherhead, but the expression on his brother’s face stopped him cold. Raph looked so at peace with his decision. The last thing Leo ever wanted to do was force him into anything. Because for Leo their relationship had been about love, even though it apparently had been one-sided. Raph’s happiness meant everything to him. Even if it meant… this.

“Yeah.” Leo turned away, crossing his arms over his plastron. “S-sure. If that’s what you really want.”

“It’s what we both want,” Raph coaxed. “You’ll see how right I am, Leo. Trust me. Now, what did you want to tell me?”

“I wanted to tell you.. that..” Leo closed his eyes tight. “That we have practice early tomorrow. So, you know, get a lot of sleep.”

Raph chuckled, giving a mock salute towards the other’s shell. “Yes, oh Fearless Leader. I’ll be sure to do that. See ya at dinner, Leo. And thanks for understanding.”

Eyes falling closed, Leo swallowed hard as he listened to Raph leave the room. The soft click of the door closing might as well have been as loud as a church bell, as much as it pounded in Leo’s ears. He thought of the little black and white photo he’d tucked into his desk that Leatherhead had given him. The one that Raph would never see.

Leo turned towards his full length mirror. He looked at his own face and the tears that had begun to gather in his eyes. Vision blurry, he moved down his reflection to land on his stomach. With trembling fingers, he traced over where Leatherhead had told him the bulge would be, once the life inside of him continued to grow.

He wasn’t sure how it was possible, but there it was. His baby.

His and Raph’s. 

“I’m sorry, little one,” Leo fell to his knees with a sob, clutching his belly tightly. “I’m so sorry…”


	2. Chapter 2

Leo’s fork twisted idly through his spaghetti, gathering a circle of noodles, then going the other way and letting them slide back off. Distantly, he heard the rest of his family chatting around him but he had no idea what they were even talking about.

Beneath the table, his free hand rested on his stomach. He couldn’t seem to stop doing that ever since the conversation in his bedroom.

Leo’s vision blurred again and he blinked furiously, trying to keep from crying again. That was the last thing he needed. 

He glanced up across the table in time to see Raph laughing about something Mikey said. Leo’s stomach churned. He stood so fast the feet of his chair scrapped loudly against the floor. Keeping his head bowed he avoided the startled stares.

“Leonardo?” Splinter questioned. “Are you alright, my son? You look pale.”

Leo latched onto that. “No, Sensei. I think I’m coming down with something.” He looked at Mikey apologetically. “I’m sorry, Mikey. Dinner was delicious but I can’t really eat right now.”

“It’s okay, bro,” Mikey assured, concerned. “You can’t help it if you’re sick. I’ll save you some, okay?”

“In the meantime, you should lie down.” Donnie stood too and took hold of Leo’s upper arms, turning and ushering him from the kitchen. “Come on. After you’re comfortable I’ll give you some Ginger Ale to settle your stomach.”

“My stomach?” Leo stared at him, letting Donnie direct him towards the stairs. He couldn’t know, could he?

“It must be bothering you. You’ve been holding it since you stood up.”

“Oh,” he relaxed slightly, “right. I’m just nauseas…”

Once in his room, Leo removed his gear and slipped beneath the soft blue blanket on his bed. As promised, Donnie returned with a glass of the soda and stayed until Leo finished.

“Let me know if you still don’t feel well later,” he directed, taking the empty cup. “Sleep well, Leo.”

Donnie gave him a gentle smile then walked out, leaving the door open a crack as he did so. Leo had to smile a little at that. Leaving the door ajar was something that Splinter always did when they were sick; that way he could hear them during the night, should they call for him.

Leo rolled onto his side, shell towards the door, and held his blanket tightly. His family loved him so much, and he them. Before when Leatherhead had asked him what his family would think of his pregnancy, he had been so sure he’d known how they would feel. But now that Raph had left him… he realized that he didn’t really know.

And that terrified him.

 

>>

 

“Where is it, where is it?” Mikey muttered to himself as he dug through the living room. 

Red sofa cushions landed on the floor with soft thumps, little pillows flew everywhere. Wrappers, shurikens, game cases without the games inside, a piece of broken controller and a connection wire all sailed through the air like debris in a hurricane. 

Still he couldn’t find his Game Guy. 

“I could have sworn that I left it here,” he grumbled. 

Mikey stood in the middle of his homemade mess, one hand on his hip and the other tapping at his chin as he attempted to remember. He tried to picture the last time he’d used it, and recalled a game about zombies. 

Suddenly it struck him like a lightning bolt.

Leo!

He’d been using it one day last week instead of training, so his eldest brother took it away from him. Which meant it could only be in one place.

The orange masked turtle zipped from the living room and up to the second level of their underground home. Leo wasn’t even in the Lair, he’d gone out with Raph and Master Splinter for a supply run, so it was the perfect time to snatch his game machine back before the leader even knew.

Grinning to himself at his sly wickedness, Mikey entered Leo’s room and immediately went to his desk. The room was always kept meticulous, so he’d bet money it was in there. The first drawer on the left was nothing but a bunch of magazines on Japan, one of Leo’s favorite subjects. Mikey stopped to admire the pretty Cherry Blossom tree on the top cover for a second, and then continued his search. 

The second drawer held photos of all of them, Leatherhead, Usagi, Gen, April and Casey. They were neatly stacked and organized by content. Different pictures of them around their home, certain holidays and birthdays, ones of Casey’s Grandma’s farmhouse, and in different places in the city. Smiling at Leo’s sentimental personality, Mikey carefully closed the drawer and moved on.

There was only one drawer on the right side so he eagerly pulled it open. His Game Guy stared up at him like it had just been waiting for him to find it.

“There’s my baby!” Mikey cooed, scooping the electronic up like a precious gift.

He’d just started to close the drawer when something inside caught his eye. Curious, he grasped the corner of the black and white photo and lifted it up for a better look. 

 

>

 

Donnie’s tongue stuck out the corner of his mouth, eyes completely focused behind his goggles as he slowly moved the lip of the beaker of clear liquid closer to the top of another with red liquid.

Slowly… slowly…

Suddenly something obscured his vision as it was practically shoved up his nose.

“Donnie, what’s this?” 

“Mikey!” Donatello jerked back in shock, fingers tightening on the beakers in fear of dropping them. Frustrated, he carefully put them down then tore the goggles from his face to glare at his youngest brother. “You could have caused an explosion!”

“Sorry!” Mikey looked contrite for a second, then his curiosity won out and he once again held up the picture. “What is this?” he asked again.

“It’s a photo,” he replied impatiently. 

Mikey wasn’t impressed, rolling his eyes. “Well thank you, Captain Obvious! Of what?”

With a put-upon sigh, Donnie put the eyewear down and took the photo. “It’s a picture of,” he started, then paused, looking at it more closely. “Of… Is that…?”

He stopped there, staring with wide eyes at the image and after a moment, Mikey began to jump from foot to foot. “A picture of what? Is it what I think it is?”

“Mikey, where did you get this?”

“In Leo’s desk.”

Donnie sighed. “What did Leo tell you about going into his room and snooping like that? He’s going to kill you.”

“I wasn’t snooping!” Mikey instantly denied. “I went in there to get my Game Guy and I found this! Now tell me what it is!”

“Exactly what it looks like.”

Donnie and Mikey started in surprise and turned to stare at Leo. The blue masked terrapin stood in the lab doorway, wires and tubes spilling over his fingers as he held the pieces Donnie had asked him to try to find. 

The look on Leo’s face was a mixture of betrayal and defeat. He walked in, laid his burden on Donnie’s table, then held out his hand for the photo.

“Leo…” Donnie slowly handed it to him, “are you…?”

“You shouldn’t have gone into my room, Michelangelo,” Leo cut Donnie off.

Mikey whimpered. He hated it when Leo was angry with him. With Raph it was expected, but with Leo it made Mikey feel like he was a huge disappointment. Especially when his full name was involved. “I didn’t mean any harm,” he tried. “But how can you be pregnant? You’re still a boy aren’t you?”

The question was so ridiculous and unexpected that Leo had to crack a smile. “Yes, Mikey, I’m still a boy. I didn’t suddenly change genders overnight.”

“What did Leatherhead tell you?” Donnie asked. 

“He doesn’t know how it could be possible, either,” Leo replied. “But there’s definitely no denying it. Especially after this.” He tucked the picture into his belt. “Don’t tell Raph.”

“Why shouldn’t we tell..?” Mikey paused, eyes widening as it dawned on him. “It’s his?!”

Donnie rolled his eyes. “Well, duh, Mikey. It obviously wasn’t you or I, so who else could it have been?” He grasped Leo’s shoulder, expression changing to concern. “Leo, why don’t you want Raph to know? He has a right, don’t you think? And if the two of you are together…”

Leo forced a laugh. “It was just sex. Meaningless, unemotional sex. We’re not together.”

“What was it like?”

“Mikey!” Donnie snapped, glaring at the youngest brother.

He held up his hands innocently. “What? I’m curious! Still a virgin over here!”

After casting him an irritated, piercing look, Donnie then turned his attention back to Leo. The words he’d used concerned him… Leo’s emotions always drove him in everything he did. There was no way he’d engage in sex with Raph if his heart wasn’t in it.

“Those are the words Raph used, aren’t they,” he accused. “What else did he say to you, Leo?”

Mikey caught onto Donnie’s tone. “Was he mean to you, Leo?” he demanded. “Did he hurt you?”

“No, nothing like that!” Leo insisted. Though he fiercely appreciated his younger siblings’ sudden protectiveness, he didn’t want them thinking badly of their brother. “It’s okay that Raph feels that way. It hurts, I won’t lie about that. But I’d rather he tells me the truth.”

Mikey wasn’t sure about that. “It was still a crappy thing to do. He shouldn’t have gotten involved if he didn’t feel deeply about you, Leo. You deserve better than that.”

“Mikey’s right,” Donnie agreed. He shot a look at the youngest with the corner of his eyes. He’d never heard him sound so vehement before. “Still, he has a right to know, don’t you think? As does Master Splinter.”

Leo sighed. He closed his eyes, squared his shoulders like he was ready for a fight, and nodded. “Yes, you’re right, Donnie. I… I’ll tell them tonight.”

His eyes snapped open when he felt a hand tentatively touch his stomach. Mikey’s expression was full of complete awe, his fingers gentle on his brother’s plastron.

“A baby,” he whispered in wonderment. “You’re going to have a baby.”

It was the reaction that Leo had been hoping to get from Raph, and for a brief, startling moment, he imagined that he was carrying Mikey’s offspring instead. 

“Yes,” he smiled at his brother. “I suppose I am.”


	3. Chapter 3

The city went by in a blur, building lights nothing but bright streaks as Raphael ran as fast as he could over the rooftops. Teeth clenched as tightly as his fists, he leapt over the gaps between the buildings as he headed for familiar territory.

He could barely think. He felt sick, scared and angry. Of all the things that he would have guessed when Leo announced he had something to tell him and Master Splinter, what he’d said wasn’t it.

_“I’m pregnant.”_

_A stunned silence met his confession, but Leo didn’t dare raise his eyes. He held his breath as he waited for the first to speak._

_“Donatello..?” Splinter called on his smartest son, “is this possible?”_

_“Apparently so,” Donnie answered from Leo’s right side. “Leatherhead discovered it and I confirmed it. We’re not sure how--”_

_“Yes we are,” Mikey cheerfully cut in from Leo’s left. “Nice job, Raphie!”_

_“—But it’s definitely true.”_

_“No,” Raph voice was faint in shock. Suddenly it hardened. “ **No.** This can’t be possible.”_

_“It is.” Leo reluctantly raised his eyes, locking gazes with his hotheaded brother. “I’m sorry, Raph. I had no idea..”_

_“This is what you wanted to tell me the other night, isn’t it,” Raph accused. “Not that shit about training. **This.** ”_

_“Yes…”_

_“And **YOU** ,” he rounded on Michelangelo, “are treating it like some kind of freaking joke! Is this hilarious to you!?”_

_“Of course not!” Mikey shook his head, frowning at him. “But being a prick about it is just upsetting Leo!”_

_“Well we wouldn’t want that, would we?!” Raph turned sharply and stalked away. “I’m going topside!”_

His family called after him, but he refused to turn back. As soon as he’d left the sewers and scaled the fire escape of the nearest building, he’d started running. He only slowed as he approached a familiar apartment building.

Top floor, third window from the right. He only had to knock once before the window slid open admitting him entry.

“Hey, Raph,” Casey greeted, pleased and yet confused to see his friend. “Were we supposed to hang out tonight?”

“No. I just needed to get away from home for a little while.” Raph gestured to the open beer in the human’s hand. “You got any more of those?”

“’Course.” Going to his modest little kitchen, Casey grabbed a cold bottle from the fridge and brought it back to the mutant turtle. “You and Leo get into a fight again?” he guessed.

Raph growled as he popped the cap. Tipping it back, he took a generous swig before demanding, “why does it gotta always be about Leo?! My life doesn’t revolve around him!”

“Whoa, easy man,” Casey held up his hands placatingly, “it’s just that when you ‘need air’, it’s usually got something to do with him.”

With a heavy, drawn-out sigh, Raph flopped heavily down onto the recliner. He held the glass bottle between his knees, idly picking at the corner of the label.

“Sorry,” he muttered. “I’m just a little stressed out.”

Casey arched an eyebrow. “No kidding. So what did happen, then?”

“It’s complicated.”

Casey would be the first to admit that he may not be the brightest crayon in the box, but in the two years that he’d known the turtles he’d become an excellent judge of their moods. He didn’t always take them into account when he opened his mouth, but he could still read them.

Raph’s pose: shoulders slouched, head down, and fingers barely grasping the bottle he’d practically devoured just a second before, came together in a picture of misery and told him that whatever was bothering him was more than just some fight with his sibling.

It was because of April that Casey had begun to learn to go into such situations as delicately as he was able to. He’d made the costly mistake with her too many times not to learn it. In fact he was pretty sure he had a permanent bump on his head from all the times he’d gotten it wrong.

He loved the woman but damn she could be scary!

“Raph,” he awkwardly patted his friend’s shell, “whatever it is I’m sure you guys will work it out. You always do.”

There was a moment of complete silence, and just when Casey was going to try again, Raph suddenly jumped up and started pacing. His body was tense again, movements jerky as he yanked the bottle to his lips and took another long drink.

“I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do,” he muttered, just barely loud enough for Casey to hear him. “Everything’s… it’s all going to be different now. I never thought… it wasn’t supposed to happen!”

“Wait, what wasn’t?” Casey was starting to become worried. He and Raph were closest, but all of the turtles were his friends. “Is someone hurt?”

Raph scoffed but didn’t answer, so clearly the answer was ‘no’. He finished his beer and went to the fridge for another. Upon the discovery that Casey was out, he stalked back to his friend and pulled the half-empty one from his grasp.

Casey let him take it. Whatever was wrong with Raph, he needed the alcohol more than Casey did. “You want to hang out here for a while?” he offered. “The game’s on.”

Raph didn’t even hesitate. “Yes,” he agreed, sitting back down on the recliner. “I’ll stay.”

 

>>>

 

It was after three in the morning by the time Raph returned to the Lair. He had stayed in Casey’s apartment long after his friend passed out on his sofa, unwilling to come home and face the reality of the situation he and Leo found themselves in.

All because of him.

Guilt gnawed at him like a starving animal. It was his fault that all of this happened and Leo ended up… like he was. Granted, Raph had no idea that his eldest brother could be impregnated. How would he know that? Still, if he hadn’t… if they hadn’t… then Leo wouldn’t…

So distracted by his tormented thoughts, Raph didn’t notice the figure waiting for him until he spoke.

“Have you had plenty of time to think it over?”

Raph jumped back in shock, heart pounding in his chest. “Master Splinter!”

The aged rat moved from the shadows of the semi-dark living room. Cane clutched in both hands, he regarded his second eldest. “Do not let this news cloud your mind so much, my son. A ninja is always aware. You should have sensed me,” he scolded.

Raph bowed his head slightly. “Sorry, Sensei.”

Splinter’s expression softened. “Leonardo’s news is difficult for all of us, but running off is not going to make it go away. You’re needed here, Raphael. Now more than ever.”

“But how can I face him?” Raph blurted desperately. “After what I did.” And the things I said, he added silently to himself.

“The consequences of your actions are surprising, but they can’t be undone,” Splinter said. “You and Leonardo need to figure out how you’re going to handle it.”

Raph averted his gaze. “Do you hate us?”

As rebellious as the emerald turtle couldn’t help but be, he really did strive for his father’s approval and affection just like his other three siblings.

He involuntarily winced as he heard Splinter approach, body tense as he waited for the blow from the cane. But he jerked instead in surprise when instead of a hit, a gentle, furry hand laid on his arm.

“You are my sons,” Splinter told him softly, “and I will always love you. I honestly can say that I don’t understand the bond you and Leonardo share, but there is nothing you can ever do that will make me hate you.”

Quickly swallowing passed the lump of emotion that had formed in his throat, and his chest tight, Raph nodded. “Thank you, Father…”

Splinter smiled up at him. “Now, go to bed. Tomorrow we all have a lot to talk about.”

Raph climbed the stairs. Bypassing his own room, he stopped at Leo’s. Holding his breath, he slowly turned the handle and eased the door open enough so that a sliver of light peeked into the darkness.

Leo’s form was snuggled in his bed. He couldn’t see much, but Raph could hear the deep, calm breaths of someone who was definitely sleeping. Pushing the door open a little more, he squeezed inside and approached the bed. The light from the hall cast a line across Leo’s body, highlighting the fact he was sleeping curled on his side. Raph had seen him do it more times than he could count, and not long ago he would have crawled into bed behind him and went to work waking Leo up so they could play.

_“Besides, it was just sex. It’s not like we actually were in love or anything.”_

Raph’s words came back to haunt him. Slowly, he sat down on the side of Leo’s bed, eyes on his sleeping brother’s face. “What did I do to you, Leo?” he murmured guiltily. 

His golden eyes trailed down to Leo’s front, and oh so carefully he eased the blanket enough from his brother’s body to see his stomach. The yellow plastron as still flat, but now that he knew the truth, Raph saw it as it would be soon – round and full with their little baby inside.

He lifted his hand to touch, but just before his fingertips made contact, Leo stirred.

Heart pounding, Raph jerked back and jumped to his feet. He waited, breath held, as Leo moved a bit more before he rolled over and continued to sleep. Faced with his brother’s shell, Raph wondered if that was supposed to be symbolic somehow.

Turning, he tiptoed from the room and closed the door behind him. Ducking into his own sanctum, he removed his gear and mask, buried himself in his hammock and attempted to find a comfortable position.

By the time morning came, he hadn’t slept a wink.


	4. Chapter 4

“Oh, Leo, this is so exciting!” April gushed, squishing the teen turtle against her in a tight hug.

Leo flailed a bit, trying to ease his face from where she had it pressed to her breasts in an effort to breathe. “You’re not weirded out?”

“Well it’s definitely unexpected,” she replied, “but it’s still wonderful! To think, a sweet, adorable little mutant turtle baby crawling around… getting into trouble--” April broke off with a gasp, looking around the Lair with a new eye of concern. “You guys are going to have to baby-proof this place like crazy.”

Mikey looked confused from his place leaning on the back of the sofa. “What does that even mean?”

“It means we have to make the Lair safe for Leo and Raph’s little one,” Donnie told him, “to make sure that he or she doesn’t get into anything that could hurt it. Like our weapons, or the pool.”

Raph snorted from his side of the sofa, arms crossed across his plastron and a bored expression on his face. “It’s a turtle, like us. I hardly think a little water’s going to hurt it.”

“I never said the water would hurt it, Raph. But we don’t exactly want it swimming away now do we?”

Leo finally managed to extract himself from their human friend’s grip. “April, will you help us get the stuff we’re going to need? Like a crib, bottles, pacifier, all that stuff?”

The excitement was back on her face. “I’d be happy to! And I know just the place to go. There’s a lovely little baby shop not far from mine.”

That conversation had seemed like it had taken place just yesterday, when in reality it had been a couple of months. They already knew from the ultrasound that the baby inside of Leo wouldn’t come out an egg, but the actual infant itself, so while a normal turtle usually laid her nest within a couple months of copulation, Donnie and Leatherhead estimated that Leo’s pregnancy would last somewhere between those two months and the nine months it took for human females to give birth.

Thus in the two months since discovering his condition, he’d begun to have quite the sizable bump in his plastron. The hormones coursing through his body had made Leo extremely self-conscious about it. Ninjitsu had always given his body a strong, sleek balance, and now that his stomach was bigger he felt completely off, as well as clumsy and gross.

His family took it in different ways. Mikey was completely fascinated with the change. At least once a day he remarked on how amazing it was, his fingers twitching with the urge to constantly touch and feel, as though he could understand more that way.

Donnie was constantly checking on Leo’s health and comfort, questioning him throughout the day on how Leo was feeling, if he was in any pain or discomfort, if he could feel the baby moving, etc. He checked Leo’s blood pressure and heart rate every morning when he awoke, and at night before bed. Donnie also managed to get some vitamins from April and followed Leo around until his eldest brother finally agreed to take them.

Splinter limited Leo’s training accordingly, and barely allowed him do to anything. It was only when Leo insisted he was going nuts without any training at all did Splinter, after speaking to Donnie and Leatherhead, finally allow Leo to do limited workouts and timed training with his beloved katana. Still he kept a tight schedule on Leo and when he felt like his son was getting too stressed or sweaty, demanded he stop for the day.

Raph’s reactions ranged from hot to cold about the whole thing. One moment he’d be openingly watching Leo, tentative and insecure like he wanted to speak to him, and the next he would act like Leo wasn’t even in the room with him.

But every time Leo tried to talk to him him about the baby, the emerald turtle would become clearly detached, eyes faraway like he was lost in his own head. Leo would have had more of a reaction if he tried to communicate with a brick wall.

It was frustrating and heartbreaking.

Leo sighed, running his hand along the side of the crib April had gotten for him at that shop she mentioned. It was a rich, dark mahogany with a fitted, white mattress and matching bumpers. Above it hung a mobile with four tiny crocheted turtles. Mikey had taken it upon himself to tie a small ribbon of color around each turtle – one blue, one red, one orange and one purple – to represent each of the brothers.

“What’s that for?” Raph had asked gruffly, when he’d seen what Mikey had done.

“So that the baby knows that we’re all watching over him,” Mikey responded proudly. “It’s true, isn’t it, Raph?”

The emerald turtle muttered something under his breath and turned away, but not before his brothers caught the slight smile on his lips.

One hand on his stomach, Leo reached up with the other and encircled his fingers around the crocheted turtle with the red ribbon. He stared into the little black eyes as though it could give him the answer of what to do about his elusive ex-lover.

“Leo,” Mikey sing-songed as he bounced into the room through the open doorway, “lunch time! I made your favorite!”

Releasing the mobile, Leo turned to the energetic teen with a smile. “You spoil me, Mikey.”

“Well you deserve it,” Mikey grinned. “After all, you’re continuing our species! How amazing is that?”

“No more amazing than it was yesterday.”

“Oh no, how wrong you are, big brother! It’s _more_ amazing than yesterday.” Mikey’s hands sought out Leo’s stomach, tracing over the baby bump like a delicate treasure. “This is our future.”

Leo shivered; his body had started to become more sensitive to touch and every time Mikey put his hands on him, he barely resisted the urge to churr. Hastily but gently, Leo brushed Mikey’s hands off him before he embarrassed himself. “So you said it was lunch time?”

 

>>>>>

 

Leo awoke in the middle of the night, completely starving like he hadn’t touched a crumb of food in days. With a huff of annoyance, he pushed himself up and climbed out of bed.

“Your Uncle Michelangelo has been shoving food down my throat all day, and now you want more?” he grumbled with a poke to his stomach. “You selfish little thing. I suppose you had to get some traits from Raph.”

Being as quiet as he could despite the fact that Leo felt like a whale, he made his way down the stairs to the kitchen. In the fridge was a pickle jar with his name on it.

That was how Raph found him – sitting at the table munching on the preserved cucumber as he stared into space. “I don’t know how the heck you can still be hungry, Fearless,” he rolled his eyes, going for a soda in the fridge. “You practically licked your plate clean at dinner.”

“Well excuse me for eating for two,” Leo grumbled back. “It’s not like I can control it. One minute the baby’s sitting on my bladder, and the next it wants food.”

“Why not just split the difference, and eat while you sit on the toilet?” Raph smirked, popping the can open. “Save yourself some time.”

“Bite me, Raphael. This isn’t exactly my idea of fun.”

“No? Well it sure looks like you’re enjoying yourself. How would you not be, with Mikey and Donnie doting on your every need and whim?”

“They want to help me,” Leo shot back. “Unlike you.”

“What do you expect me to do, Leo? Rub your shell? Get you a pillow for between your knees?” Raph drained the soda and tossed the can with more force than necessary into the trashcan, the aluminum clanging loudly against the garbage already inside it. “Let me just drop to the floor and kiss the ground you walk on.”

Leo attempted to jump up, only got halfway there before he flopped back down onto the chair. With an annoyed grunt, he tried again and managed to make it to his feet. “Don’t take that tone with me,” he warned. “First of all, I’m still your leader and you won’t talk to me like that. Secondly, I don’t want you to do any of those things. But this is your baby, too! I just want you in its life.”

“I’m right here!” Raph threw his arms wide. “Right fucking here. I haven’t gone anywhere, Leo, and I don’t plan to. Just because I’m not glued to your side like Mikey doesn’t mean I won’t be there for the kid.”

“‘The kid’?” Leo narrowed his eyes. “You talk like you have no emotional attachment. Like it’s not even yours!”

“Yeah, it’s mine alright,” Raph replied back with a sneer. “My child, as well as my niece or nephew. How messed up is that? It’s like a freaking Jerry Springer episode.”

“Well whose fault is that?! You’re the one who started this!” Leo shoved his finger into Raph’s chest, disgusted. “You came into my room that first time and kissed me! You made the first move, Raph! You! So you don’t get to act like I manipulated you, or what we did was wrong! Everyone else has accepted it, and the one person that hasn’t, you, have started to treat it like a mistake!”

Raph grabbed Leo’s hand, yanking it away from his chest but keeping it in his grip. “It **was** a mistake! You were a mistake! I don’t want this baby and I don’t want you!”

They both froze as Raph’s words sank in. With a hard jerk, Leo yanked his hand from his brothers.

“I understand, Raphael,” Leo muttered, turning away. “If that’s what you really want, then we won’t even tell our child that you’re its father. Will that make you happy?” He took a couple steps away, stopped, then turned halfway to look at the emerald turtle with sad eyes. “Even though I was a mistake to you, you were nothing of the sort in my eyes. I let you use me. And do you know why?”

“No..” Raph murmured, unconsciously lowering the tone of his voice to match the blue masked turtle’s, “why?”

“Because I thought I loved you,” Leo bowed his head and turned away, “but I guess I was wrong. Maybe I don’t even know what that is.”

A part of Leo that still refused to stop hoping wanted Raph to call him back, or at least say something, but not a word was spoken. With a heavy heart, he crawled beneath his blankets and pulled them over his head.


	5. Chapter 5

Leo was jolted awake in the middle of the night to a terrible, piercing pain in his abdomen. He curled in on himself with a cry, hands clutching tight at his bulging stomach. “D-Donnie!”

The bedroom door burst open, smacking hard into the wall and his room was flooded with blinding light. “Leo, what is it? What’s wrong?” Donnie demanded, rushing to his bedside.

“Hurts,” Leo gasped. Suddenly he felt a wet gush between his legs.

Donnie’s eyes widened as he saw a dark red stain grow at the juncture of Leo’s thighs. “GUYS! Someone get in here and help me!”

The sheet was ripped away as Donnie spoke quickly and frantically to whoever had entered the room. Leo could barely think passed the pain as he was lifted from the bed into strong arms and carried bridal style from his bedroom.

“What the hell’s happening, Donnie?” Raph demanded, lying Leo as gently as he could onto the cot in the lab. “Why’s he bleeding??”

“I-it could be a number of things,” Donnie replied hastily, grabbing some of his equipment. “Mikey!” he called to his youngest brother as he followed them into the lab, “go get Leatherhead. Tell him that I need him here right now.”

Not needing to be told twice, Mikey turned and darted away. 

Donnie pulled the portable oxygen tank closer and laid the mask over Leo’s mouth and nose. “Come on, bro, breath deep. That’s it.”

Leo’s eyes kept trying to close, his head rolling from side to side as he fought to stay conscious. He whimpered as more blood poured from his body.

“Shit,” Donnie cursed. “Shit, shit, shit. He’s losing too much.”

“Well do something!” Raph snapped. “What’re you just standing there for?!”

“Don’t you think I’m trying!” Donnie yelled back. “I’m just as scared as you! At this rate he’s going to need a transfusion.”

Without even an ounce of hesitation, Raph stuck his arm out. “Then do it.”

By the time that Mikey returned with Leatherhead, Leo was completely unconscious. Splinter sat at the front end of the cot, one of his hands on Leo’s forehead, worried dark eyes on his eldest son’s slack face. At the side of the bed, Raph was watching Leo too, expression intense like he was afraid his brother would disappear if he looked away. Blood was steadily flowing from his arm into a tube which was connected to Leo’s arm.

Mikey was horrified. “What’s happening?”

“We’re going to figure that out,” Leatherhead assured him. He went around the cot to join Donnie, the two talking in hushed tones as the turtle relayed to him what had happened so far.

Leatherhead gently ran his hands over Leo’s plastron, pressing very lightly here and there to see how hard the baby bump had become. He then carefully parted Leo’s legs to check for tearing or any other source of the bleeding. 

“He appears to be stable now,” the large mutant said as he straightened. “You can unhook Raphael.”  
Raph winced when Donnie gently removed the needle from his skin and bandaged him up, but otherwise didn’t react. 

“I know this is hard for all of you,” Leatherhead rumbled empathetically, “but Donnie and I must ask that everyone leaves while we examine Leonardo. We’ll let you know as soon as we have a diagnosis.”

Splinter stood with a nod. “We understand. Come, my sons, we’ll wait in the kitchen.”

Raph refused to move. “No. I’m staying right here.”

“Raph,” Donnie sighed, clearly exasperated with no time to argue, “you gave a lot of blood to him. You need to rest--”

“I said no,” the emerald turtle growled. “Leo is carrying my baby. I’m the reason this is happening to him. I’m NOT leaving his side.”

Startled by the protectiveness, Donnie stared at his brother for a moment. Everyone knew that through this whole thing, Raph had been aloof and cold at the best of times, but now the Guardian was showing his face and despite the situation they found themselves in, Donnie could not help but feel a sense of relief to see the old Raphael back where he belonged. Fiercely protective, loyal, and loving. 

“Yes, alright,” he finally agreed. “You can stay.”

 

 

Splinter fiddled idly with his tea mug as he and Michelangelo waited at the kitchen table. The mutant turtle had his folded arms on the wooden surface, chin resting on them as he stared blankly at nothing. A line of worry creased his forehead, making him appear older than he was.

Splinter tried to think up some words to comfort them both but he found himself at a loss. They could only offer each other their presence as they waited on word of the eldest brothers’ condition.

Mikey sat up abruptly and Splinter turned to face Donnie and Leatherhead as they entered the kitchen.

“How is Leonardo?” Splinter asked softly, as if speaking too loudly would break the lull of the Lair.

“He’s stable. Raphael is keeping an eye on him,” Leatherhead told him, removing the glasses from his snout. 

Mikey released an audible sigh of relief. “What happened to him?”

“We believe it was a Placental Abruption,” Donnie replied, “which can happen if there’s bleeding behind the placenta. It can lead to a number of problems with both Leo and the baby, so we need to keep him in the lab with someone watching him until the birth. Just to be safe.”

“I would like to stay and help out as much as I can. If you’ll let me,” Leatherhead ventured.

“Of course. We’re pleased to have you,” Splinter stood with a nod. “Come, let’s set up the sofa bed for you.”

 

 

Raph had been staring at Leo for hours. His amber eyes took in the features he knew so well with a familiar longing in his heart. He was so focused on Leo’s sleeping form that he barely noticed Donnie come up beside him. He did, however, notice the quick punch to his bicep.

“Ow!” he jerked in surprise and pain, glaring at him. “What the fuck was that for?”

“For being a complete and total prick,” Donnie scowled back.

Raph’s eyeridges rose in surprise. 

“Don’t look at me like that, Raph. You’ve been nothing but difficult this whole damn time, and now you’re acting like Leo’s the most precious thing in the world. Would you make up your freaking mind?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the emerald turtle denied, making Donnie glare all the harder. 

“The hell you don’t. Everyone has seen it, you know. You’ve always been difficult, but this was extreme even for you. It’s not good for Leo and it’s not good for your baby. Now tell me what the hell is going on before I hit you again.”

“God, since when do you swear so much? Ow! Damn it, stop hitting me before you make me wake Leo!”

“You won’t wake Leo. He’s going to be dead to the world for a few hours still. Now talk.”

Raph sighed wearily, running his hand over his face. “Fine. Where should I start?”

“How about the beginning?” Donnie suggested, sitting down on the second chair beside him. “And then when Leo wakes up, you’re going to tell him, too.”

 

 

In the foggy state of mind that the verge of one just waking, Leo suddenly realized that he wasn’t alone again. The first time he’d come to hours earlier, it had been to his family’s relieved faces.

Donnie had explained what had happened.

Leo was afraid but he knew he was in good hands. No one would let anything happen to him or the little one. Comforted, he fell asleep again. Now Leo found himself with company once more.

“How are you feeling?” Raph asked, sitting on the side of the bed but not touching him. “Any pain?”

Leo’s hand moved to rest on his stomach. “No. I’m feeling alright,” he replied. “Donnie told me what you did for me. The transfusion I mean. You didn’t have to, you know.”

“How the hell could I not?” Raph sounded wounded. “You were in trouble, Leo. I’d do anything for you.”

“Really,” Leo retorted tiredly, clearly disbelieving him. 

“Don’t do that. It’s not fair.”

“You want to talk fair? Really? How about calling me and our baby a mistake? I gave myself to you, Raph. You meant everything to me and when I needed you, you turned me away like I wasn’t worth your time.” Leo sighed. “I’d have thought you’d be relieved if something happened.”

Raph sucked in a sharp, surprised breath. “Leo… I admit that I’ve been a jerk. Donnie was kind enough to beat that into me. But I would never, ever want something to happen to you or the baby. I said some horrible things and I can’t take them back. But I didn’t mean them.”

“Then why did you say them?” Leo challenged. “Why were you trying to hurt me?”

“I don’t know.”

“Liar. You always know. So why?”

“Leo, please, I can’t.”

“Why?”

“I don’t…”

_“Why?”_

“You wouldn’t…”

**“Why!”**

“BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!” Raph burst under the pressure, like a balloon with too much air. “I love you and it scared the hell out of me, so I pushed you away! I told you things I knew would hurt you. I put as much distance between us as I possibly could. I acted like I didn’t care. But none of it is true!” He grasped Leo’s hand, holding it tight. “You’re the only one I’ve ever wanted, Leo. That’s why I started having sex with you. When I realized what you had become to me, I panicked and broke up with you. And then you told me and Master Splinter that you were pregnant.”

“That had been a wonderful conversation,” Leo deadpanned. “You ran off.”

“You shouldn’t have told Donnie and Mikey before me,” Raph shot back accusingly. “Don’t you think I should have been the first to know?”

“I didn’t tell them on purpose. Mikey was snooping in my room and found the ultrasound picture.”

“Of course he did,” Raph grumbled. “Damn little sneak..”

Leo tried to take his hand back, but Raph’s grip only tightened. “What do you want from me?” he sighed. 

“I don’t want anything from you,” Raph insisted. “I just… I want to be with you.”

“No.”

The emerald turtle had the audacity to look shocked. “No? The hell do you mean ‘no’? But I told you--”

“I know what you told me. But I can’t forgive you, Raph, not now. Mikey has been there for me every step of the way. Not you.”

“Is that how it is, then?” he growled, clearly jealous. “You want him now?”

“Don’t be a jerk,” Leo shot back. “It’s not like that.”

“Then what is it?”

“I’m not going to turn my back on him after he’s bent over backwards to help me. If you truly mean what you said, then you have to give it time. And after the baby is born if you still feel the same way about me, we’ll talk. But right now, I just need you to be my brother, and to be the father of our baby. If you want to be.”

“I want to.” Raph ducked his head, bringing Leo’s hand to his lips. “Everyone else is so excited about it, which is good, but it isn’t really going to change who they are. Donnie is still going to me our genius who makes everything right around here. Mikey is still going to be the goofball that keeps everyone laughing. Master Splinter is still going to be our father and teacher, wise and knowledgeable. But you and I… we’re going to be parents, Leo. This little ball of energy is going to depend on us for everything.” 

Raph swallowed hard, then kissed Leo’s fingers.

“What if I’m terrible at being a father? What if I screw the baby up in some way? Now you… you’re going to be perfect. You always are. But I’m nothing special and I always do the wrong thing.”

“Raph…” Leo reached up with his free hand and cupped his brother’s cheek, raising the other teen’s face to look at him. “I’m sure that all parents worry that they’re going to do something wrong. I’m scared about that, too. But the truth of the matter is that we have our family and friends who are ready to help out and support us all the way. With their help, there’s no way that you and I can mess up too badly.”

“Can you promise that?” 

“No,” Leo replied, earning a weak laugh from the other turtle. “But I can promise that you’re going to be an amazing father.”

“How do you know?”

Leo smiled, “because as much as you’re a pain in the ass sometimes, you can be an amazing brother when you put your mind to it. This child is going to be lucky to have you.”

Raph ducked his head and tipped forward, resting his forehead against Leo’s chest. Leo immediately wrapped his arms around Raph’s shoulders and shell, holding tight as strong arms wound around his waist. They stayed like that for a long time, listening to each other breath as the minutes ticked by.

“Can I stay here with you tonight?” Raph whispered into Leo’s plastron.

“Yes.”

They ended up with Leo remaining on his shell with Raph on his side next to him. Raph’s hand drifted from Leo’s chest towards his plastron, but hesitated then retreated before he touched.

Leo snagged the wayward hand. “It’s okay,” he whispered, guiding it towards his stomach.

Raph’s body went ridged, gasping softly as his fingers encountered the bulge in Leo’s stomach for the first time. Tentatively, he pressed his open palm to the middle in a soft caress. “Our baby.”

“Yes,” Leo smiled at the complete awe in Raph’s husky voice, “ours.”


	6. Chapter 6

Leo was incredibly bored. Ever since he was small he had been on the move; running around with his brothers, training, chasing the wind through the city night. The only time he was normally still was when he was meditating, but there was only so much meditation even he could handle, and he was about ready to go insane.

Thankfully Mikey had been an almost constant companion.

“Look, Leo, I found a board game for us to play!” his youngest brother announced happily, bounding into Donnie’s lab with a box in his hands. “This should keep you distracted for a while, bro.”

“Thanks, Mike,” Leo replied gratefully. With a grunt of effort, he pushed himself to sit up against the wall behind the bed. His swollen, tender belly ached a bit at the movement but his shell was grateful. “I was just thinking of you.”

“How awesome I am to keep you company?” Mikey sat on the end of the cot across from him and opened the box between them. “It’s the least I could do for my favorite big brother.”

“I’m your favorite?” Leo asked amusedly. He knew for a fact that Michelangelo said the same thing to Donnie and Raph, too, depending upon who he was trying to mooch up to at the time. 

“You sure are! Didn’t you know?” Mikey asked innocently.

“You’re just saying that because I’m letting you hide in here with me, instead of having to train like the others.”

“Oh now, Leo, that’s just crazy talk. You hush now.”

Their conversation turned to the game for a little while. They moved brightly colored pieces around the board, read from game cards and laughed at the other when they were sent back spaces. They played three times before Mikey was declared winner; it was unsurprising because the sea green terrapin almost always won at games. It was his specialty.

Afterwards, the pieces lay scattered and forgotten among the sheets, the two brothers sat side by side in a comfortable silence.

“Mikey, I wanted to thank you,” Leo told him softly. “You’ve been so amazing these last few weeks, taking care of me and making sure I’m alright. I have the others, too, but really without you I don’t know what I would have done.”

Michelangelo fidgeted a little, suddenly nervous; it was out of character for him and Leo was immediately concerned.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Mikey assured him. He ducked his head, eyes on his knees. “I’m glad I could help you, Leo, even a little bit. It makes me feel good to know that I could finally do something for you for once.”

“’For once’? What does that mean?”

Mikey reached over and took Leo’s hand in his own. He dragged it onto his lap, watching as he entwined their green fingers. “When we were little you always looked out for me. When Raph would break my crayons just to make me cry, you would go with Master Splinter into the sewers to try to find me more. When Donnie was too busy with a new invention to play with me, you would end your meditation early to scrounge up a board game. You even inspired me to love cooking.”

Leo looked confused. The first two he remembered, but the last one stumped him. “How’d I help you get into cooking? I thought your stomach did that.”

“Well, that too,” Mikey laughed. “The first thing I ever made was macaroni and cheese. I didn’t cook them long enough, and I managed to burn the cheese. They were crunchy and tasted like ash, but you acted like it was the best plate of macaroni and cheese you’d ever eaten, and I just felt so proud.”

Mikey turned his head to look at Leo. “You’ve always been there when I needed you. Even when it came to the Grudge Match rematch. You were still angry with yourself after what happened on Shredder’s spaceship, still hurting so badly in your heart, but you still put all that aside to help me train. The others wouldn’t because of how I had acted, and I don’t blame them. But you… you believed in me.”

“You won, didn’t you?” Leo spoke softly, as though anything louder than a whisper would ruin the moment. “You didn’t need me for that.”

“You’re wrong,” Mikey denied. “I did win, yes, but only because of you. Kluh had threatened to go after you guys after he finished with me, and I remembered what you had said about how we only had each other in life. That was how I found the strength to beat him. So I jumped at this chance to do everything I could for you, Leo, because without you I’d be nothing.”

“You’re amazing, Mikey,” Leo replied softly, feeling incredibly honored as tears ran down his face. “S-sorry,” he sniffled. “Hormones…”

Mikey smiled gently. Releasing Leo’s hand, he reached up and curled his arm around his brother’s shoulders, dragging him close to lean against him. “It’s okay. This is just one more thing I can help you with.”

 

>>

 

Leo had felt a lot of physical pain in his past. He’d been beaten to within an inch of his life by Shredder’s Elite, he’d been stabbed through the shoulder by Karai, been electrocuted, thrown into walls, fallen off buildings onto parked cars, fallen off bridges, crushed beneath a giant robot’s foot, thrown through windows… the list goes on. 

And yet all of it had been a friggin cake walk compared to what he was going through then.

His entire body was bathed in sweat. Horrible, piercing pain rendered him into a fetal position, his whole body feeling like it was going to be split in two as he desperately tried to do what nature only intended females to do. Oh, and male seahorses.  
Give birth.

“How the hell do women do this!?” he cried out, gripping the sheets tightly as another shot of agony coursed through him. 

“With lots of drugs,” April answered. The wet cloth she held to his forehead helped a little on his fevered skin, but not enough to ease any discomfort. “Donnie, can’t you give him something?”

“I wish I could,” the purple masked turtle replied, his attention on the junction between Leo’s legs, “but this isn’t exactly normal circumstances. We can’t guarantee it wouldn’t have side effects.”

“Screw the fucking side effects!” Leo snapped, too far gone into pain to worry about cursing. “Give me some fucking drugs!”

“I’m sorry, Leonardo, but this is for the best,” Leatherhead tried to reassure him. “We can’t risk harming you or your baby. You can do this.”

Outside the lab, Raph was pacing a hole in the floor. Every time Leo screamed, his fists and teeth would clench. It took everything he had not to rush in there. “I should be with him.”

“I know you would like to be by Leo’s side, as would we all,” Splinter soothed, his cane resting on his legs as he sat in a meditative position on the floor. He was trying to help calm Leo through spirit. “But Donatello’s lab is just too small. We would be in the way.”

“Have you guys thought of a name yet?” Casey asked, trying to distract his friend. The pacing was making him dizzy. “Do you even know the gender?”

“They don’t know,” Mikey answered for his brother. “Every time they tried to look, the little cutie would turn away from the camera.”

“We have a few choices, though,” Raph supplied, calming somewhat as they discussed the baby. “But Leo and I don’t want to say until we know if it’s a boy or girl.”

“Okay, how about what color mask then?”

“That goes along with the gender, Mister Jones,” Splinter said without opening his eyes, smirking as the human automatically whined.

“Aw come on, guys. Give me something!”

Mikey grinned at him. “How about you tell us when you are finally going to make an honest woman out of our April?”

Suddenly Casey found all attention on himself. He immediately held up his hands defensively. “Oh, oh no! Don’t turn this around on me. This is so not about me and April!”

“What’s not about us?”

Everyone shot up at April’s sudden appearance at the lab door, making her take an automatic step back as her personal space was immediately filled with an eager, red masked turtle.

“Is he…?”

Her eyes softened, a wide smile adorning her lips. “Leo and the baby are perfectly fine, Raph. You can go in.” 

April barely got the words out before he was rushing passed her.

 

>>

 

There was never any doubt that Raph was the father of course, but even if there had been before, there definitely wasn’t now. The small body, curled comfortably on Leo’s chest and surrounded in a soft blue blanket, was the same emerald shade of green that he was.

Raph reached out to touch, his thick fingers seeming so much bigger at the gentle caress to the small head. The little one cooed, burying further against Leo and both parents melted with instinctive, unconditional love.

“He’s perfect,” Raph breathed. He leaned down, pressing kiss against Leo’s temple. “Leo… thank you.”

Leo smiled tiredly. “Couldn’t have done it without you, Raph.”

They only had a couple of minutes to enjoy before the lab was suddenly flooded with everyone’s grinning faces. Upon seeing the sleeping baby, there was a loud and drawn out chorus of ‘awww!’

“My Grandson…” Splinter said proudly, tears in his eyes. “What will we call him?”

Leo looked down at the bundle in his arms, and when two tiny, dark eyes opened to meet his gaze, his heart swelled. “His name is Ronin.”

It was another week before Leo could finally go back to sleep in his own room. He and Raph lay on their sides on the edges of the bed, with Ronin asleep nestled and protected between them.

“He’s so amazing,” Leo murmured in awe. Ronin sucked on his thumb as he slept, his other hand curled around one of Leo’s fingers. “I never even imagined it would feel like this.”

“Parenthood?” Raph smiled softly. “Yeah, me either.”

So many things had changed since Leo found out he was pregnant. Some had been tough, but others had been so wonderful he wouldn’t change any of it for the world. 

“So…” he prompted a little nervously, “about you and me… I still want to be with you, Leo. And it’s not just because of Ronin,” Raph insisted before Leo could speak. “It’s because I love you. It’s because I want to sleep beside you every night, and wake up to you every day. I want to hold you and care for you, be there for you as a brother and so much more. You, me and Ronin belong together. Please don’t say no again.”

Leo wasn’t sure he’d ever seen such vulnerability in Raph’s eyes before, even the first time he’d confessed his love before the baby’s birth. His brother was baring everything to him, and the affection that he’d always felt for the younger terrapin swelled into something so much more. It was like the sunrise – the beginning of a bright, warm and new day.

“Yes.”

Raph started in surprise. “What? Yes? Really?” he asked eagerly.

Leo laughed. “Yes. I love you too, Raph, and I want to be with you.”

Careful of the precious little bundle between them, Raph leaned over and Leo met him halfway, their lips meeting in the first of many, many kisses to come. 

Life would not be easy. When had it ever been? There would be fights but also happy times. There would be frustration and joy, tears and laughter, difficulties and ease. But through it all they would have their family and friends, and most of all, they would have each other and Ronin.

It was worth it.

 

END


End file.
